The primycin antibiotic complex can be obtained from the culture of strain Thermopolyspora galeriensis belonging to the species of Streptomycetae, its preparation by fermentation is described by Hungarian patent specification No. 153,593.
Primycin is an antibiotic of macrolide type which is characterized in the prior art (J. Chem. Soc., Perkin I. page 816, 1974) by one single formula: [5-{18-(.alpha.-D-arabinofuranosyloxy)-2-butyl-3,7,11,15,19,21,23,25,27-no nahydroxy-4,16,32,34-tetramethyl-1-oxo-oxacyclohexatriaconta-16,32-diene-35 -yl}-4-hydroxyhexyl]-quanidinum sulphate.
Primycin is a very effective antibiotic which can be widely used; it is effective primarily against gram-positive bacterias but also against the polyresistant human pathogenic strains. Resistance has not developed against it as yet.
Our former experiments have already referred to the fact that the primycin composition obtained by fermentation is not a homogeneous substance. Recent developments of chromatography have enabled us to subject the primycin substance mixture to a more detailed searching examination.